A cornerstone of Finland's NBSAP is sectoral integration.
This means that conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is promoted as
an integral part of planning and activities in all socio-economic sectors.
Extensive co-operation is ensured between the ministries and other
organisations working for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
in Finland. This also means that the objectives and actions largely are carried
out within each sector, involving ministries, government agencies, local
communities, non-governmental organisations and the private sector. An
implementation and monitoring body chaired by the Ministry of the Environment has
been set up and is to supervise and monitor the implementation of the NBSAP
2006–2016.

The
Forest Biodiversity Programme METSO for the years 2008-2016 aims to halt
the ongoing decline of forest biodiversity in Southern Finland. The programme is
based on wide cooperation between the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry
of Agriculture and Forestry, the Finnish Environment Institute and the Forest
Development Centre Tapio.

On privately owned land all the conservation measures applied
in the programme are based on voluntary participation by landowners. Landowners
can propose their forests to be included in the METSO programme. If the sites
fulfil the criteria set for inclusion into the programme and are selected, the
landowners will receive compensation for the permanent or temporary protection
of their land. Besides aiming to strengthen the network of protected areas in
southern Finland, the programme includes measures to develop forestry methods
used in commercially managed forests towards greater appreciation of
biodiversity values.

The METSO Programme will also speed up the expansion of
existing protected areas through protection of adjacent state-owned lands. The
State owned Metsähallitus will also draft land use plans to prioritize the
conservation of biodiversity in ecologically important areas. The first METSO
programme was carried out in 2003 – 2007[1].

Good progress has been made in implementing the Natura 2000
network. Some 12% of Finland’s total surface area is now under protection, and
if all Natura 2000 network sites are included, the total area under protection
increases to 15%. The protected areas network is more representative in the
north and east than elsewhere. There is still particularly a need to improve
the ecological network in Southern Finland. Natura 2000 sites have notably
enhanced the protection of marine habitats, which are still inadequately
protected overall, however. In July 2006, the Kvarken Archipelago was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Act protects a number of natural habitats: herb-rich forests,
hazel woods, black alder swamps, sandy shores, coastal meadows, dunes, juniper
meadows, wooded meadows, and large trees in open landscapes. In addition to the
Nature Conservation Act, seven key forest habitat types are protected by the
Forest Act and four aquatic habitat types are protected under the Water Act.

Land use practices are still having a great impact on
biodiversity, but their impact is slowly becoming lighter in many instances.
New recommendations for forests management practices have been drafted for both
private and state-owned forests. Natural resource plans and landscape
ecological plans have been produced for all state-owned lands. The planning
process has helped to identify and safeguard many valuable biotopes, and
introduced new practices such as the maintenance of connectivity in
commercially managed forests. New ambitious goals have been set for the amount
of dead wood in both commercially managed and protected state-owned forests.

Although the total impact of agri-environment scheme is not yet
sufficient in terms of safeguarding biodiversity, some agri-environment policy
measures are having beneficial impacts. The management of traditional rural
habitats is one of the most important measures. Management work is also carried
out on state-owned land by Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services as well as
many private individuals and societies on private land.

The Nature Conservation Decree obliges
the Ministry of the Environment to organise the monitoring of native species
and natural habitats. Some 60 national species monitoring schemes operating at
various levels and scales are currently under way in Finland, with about a
third of these schemes focusing on birds, and another third concerning mammals
or insects.

Seven governmental research
institutes together with regional authorities and NGOs are involved in species
monitoring work in Finland. Monitoring schemes may be carried out by a single
organisation, or jointly. Volunteer workers play a vital role in many schemes.
According to some estimates, more than 70 % of the monitoring work is done by
volunteers.

Data on the underwater biotopes and species are collected in The
Finnish Inventory Programme for the Underwater Marine Environment (VELMU).
The results will increase the knowledge of the underwater environment and its
state thus facilitating and enabling the planning of nature protection measures
and the exploitation of natural resources. VELMU is a cooperative programme
that is coordinated by seven ministries and runs 2004 – 2014. Inventories cover
the whole marine area surrounding Finland.